York University Observatory team celebrates Moon landing’s 50th anniversary with public events

York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory team is marking that historic day 50 years ago when the first human walked on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission.

To celebrate the successful spaceflight that landed astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon to take their first lunar steps on July 20, 1969, the Observatory team is inviting the public to attend a free three-day event on Tuesday, July 16, Wednesday, July 17and Thursday, July 18.

The event will include viewing of the Moon and other celestial objects using multiple telescopes, a screening of the film Apollo 11, and hourly presentations on lunar exploration. The Observatory team, based in the Faculty of Science, is hosting the nightly event from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The event’s lead organizer is Professor Paul Delaney, the Observatory’s director and an expert in astronomy and space exploration.

“The Moon landing was one of the pinnacles of the 20th century from a scientific and a human endeavors perspective,” said Delaney, a professor in the Faculty of Science’s Department of Physics & Astronomy. “It was something that really brought people together, and now 50 years later we have a new generation of people saying it’s time to go back to the Moon and beyond.”

The film screening will take place in Room 317 of the Petrie Science & Engineering Building, Keele Campus (see Map or #17 on this Map). Observing and the lunar exploration presentations will follow the film, and be on the top of the Arboretum Lane Parking Garage (see Map or #80 on this Map).